What Is a Litany?

The word litany comes from the Greek litaneia (λιτανεία), meaning "supplication" or "entreaty." It is one of the oldest forms of prayer in the Christian tradition — a rhythmic dialogue between a leader and the assembly, built on the simple pattern of invocation and response.

The roots of the litany reach back into the Psalms themselves. Psalm 136, with its repeated refrain "for His mercy endures forever," is a kind of proto-litany, training the People of God in the habit of responsive prayer. The early Christians carried this pattern into their own worship, and by the fourth century, litanies were a standard part of public prayer across the churches of East and West.

In 590, during a devastating plague in Rome, Pope Gregory the Great organized a great litanical procession through the streets of the city. Seven groups of the faithful — clergy, monks, nuns, children, laymen, widows, and married women — processed from seven different churches, converging on the Basilica of St. Mary Major, chanting litanies and imploring God's mercy. Tradition holds that the plague ceased, and the practice of litanical processions became deeply embedded in the Church's life.

Most litanies follow a five-part structure that has remained remarkably stable across the centuries:

1. The Kyrie — The prayer opens with the ancient cry Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy"), Christe eleison ("Christ, have mercy"), followed by "Christ, hear us / Christ, graciously hear us." This places the entire prayer under the mercy of the Trinity.

2. The Invocations — The heart of the litany: a series of titles, attributes, or petitions addressed to God, Our Lady, or the saints. Each invocation is met with a fixed response — "Pray for us," "Have mercy on us," "Save us," or another phrase. The repetition is not vain; it is the steady rhythm of a heart crying out in trust.

3. The Agnus Dei — "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world" is prayed three times with ascending petitions: "Spare us," "Graciously hear us," "Have mercy on us." This echoes the Mass itself and orients the prayer toward Christ's sacrifice.

4. The Versicle and Response — A brief scriptural or traditional verse and its response, proper to the particular litany. This transitions from supplication to the concluding prayer.

5. The Collect — A formal closing prayer that gathers the intentions of the litany into a single petition, usually ending "through Christ our Lord."

Not every litany follows this pattern exactly. The Litany of Humility, for instance, dispenses with the Kyrie and Agnus Dei entirely, using its own unique petition structure. But the standard framework has proven remarkably enduring — a vessel that holds nearly two millennia of Christian prayer.

The Church distinguishes between litanies approved for public liturgical use and those intended for private devotion.

The six approved litanies — approved by the Holy See for public recitation — are:

1. Litany of All Saints — the most ancient, used at the Easter Vigil, ordinations, and religious professions
2. Litany of Our Lady of Loreto — approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V
3. Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus — approved in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII
4. Litany of the Sacred Heart — approved in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII
5. Litany of St. Joseph — approved in 1909 by Pope St. Pius X, updated by Pope Francis in 2021
6. Litany of the Precious Blood — approved in 1960 by Pope John XXIII

These six litanies may be used in public worship and carry a special authority within the Church's prayer life.

Private litanies — such as the Litany of Humility, the Litany of the Holy Spirit, and the Litany of the Blessed Sacrament — are not approved for public liturgical celebrations, but they are perfectly lawful and meritorious for private prayer, whether alone or in groups outside of liturgical functions. Many of these have been beloved by saints and spiritual directors for centuries, and they remain powerful instruments for growth in holiness.

All the litanies in this collection — both approved and devotional — are treasures of the Church's tradition, each illuminating a different facet of the mystery of God's love and the communion of saints.